Beach compromise may allow more officers

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH — The City Commission tussled and fretted for hours Tuesday, finally emerging with a compromise motion that would allow more than the five patrol officers mandated in the city’s restructuring of the police department.

But an increase in numbers would only come after the police chief — not yet hired — asks the commission for it.

The change was sparked by a letter received that day from St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, who noted that the city has identified six candidates for chief and plans to interview them on Nov. 27.

The three-man committee formed this summer to “establish measurable criteria to conduct an analysis” of the candidates chosen is therefore moot, Shoar said.

“Since the new chief will soon be hired, he or she can and should conduct the employee assessments ...,” he said.

One important fact in the drive to reduce the number of police officers is that the city estimates it would save $750,000 a year.

The committee

The selection committee consisted of St. Augustine Police Commander Barry Fox and two Sheriff’s Office deputies, Undersheriff Joel Bolante and Area Commander David Messenger, who briefly served as interim chief of the Beach police department.

The initial resolution to reduce the department was approved 3-2 in July. Yet 14 Beach police department officers have been working ever since, uncertain whether they’ll have a job come New Year’s Day.Commissioner Andrea Samuels said it was time for deliberations to be over.

Mayor S. Gary Snodgrass, a strong backer of the reorganization, said Shoar’s letter promised two deputies on duty in the city and patrol zones have been reconfigured to meet the changing requirements of protection.

“There will be no loss of law enforcement coverage in this community,” he said.

He blamed “dissenting commissioners” for delaying the completion of the restructuring.

Commissioners Undine Pawlowski and Brud Helhoski had opposed reducing the numbers of city police officers from the start, but on Tuesday they denied using delaying tactics.

The root of the matter

The crisis over the police chief began in May when 10 officers asked the commission’s help to have Chief Richard Hedges fired.

In a long, published indictment, the officers cited violations of procedures and certain actions by Hedges that the officers felt were criminal.

Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigations — the most recent ending in October — found discrepancies that included “deficient agency record-keeping, inadequate training, improper packaging of items, inadequate documentation and the improper storage of evidence.”

It said all evidence was accounted for in open criminal cases.

The report, written by Bolante, added, “The good news, of course, is that there is no indication that any malice was involved in these evidence room deficiencies.”

Hedges had maintained his innocence throughout.

The city placed him on administrative leave until the criminal probe ended. He was not prosecuted on any criminal charges and retired soon after the reports were received by the city.

The new motion

Tuesday night, Snodgrass presented a motion that he hoped would adjust the July motion by eliminating the selection committee but keep the other aspects of the reduction in force.

“It’s time for the city to move forward,” he said. “No more delays.”

Samuels said Shoar’s letter claimed “a fellow commissioner” called him and asked if he’d “hold off” on the committee.

“Because of these type of machinations ... staff from the Sheriff’s Office should not participate as members of this committee,” he wrote.

Pawlowski said, “You just point that finger at me. I feel strongly that a wrong has been done. I exercised my judgment. I did it at a public meeting.”

Helhoski said FDLE has estimated that a city the size of St. Augustine Beach needs 18 officers.

“The (committee) was delayed because it was ill-conceived. The fact that you want to move forward with this much smaller police department is a mess. It leaves us understaffed. Deputies tell me that we’re understaffed now.”

Endgame

Snodgrass said the Sheriff’s Office is already in the city, answering service calls, and he said the Beach police department was not an accredited organization.

“There’s been delay and more delay. Procrastination. We need to move this forward. This was a principal issue in the campaign between Vice Mayor (Rich O’Brien) and (challenger) Ed George. The sheriff and undersheriff were intimately involved in forming this plan,” Snodgrass said.

Pawlowski said she didn’t see a delay.

“We’ve been on track with it,” she said.

Beach resident Michael Longstreet, a former city commissioner, said, “We need more than five officers. There’s Bike Week and spring break. (Even) with the department we have with the Sheriff’s Office backing them up, they’re stressed.”

Helhoski, while still opposing cutting the number of officers, told Snodgrass he felt a “whole different spirit” and would consider things with a “spirit of open-handedness.”

He smiled and asked Snodgrass to relent in his motion and allow the new chief 60 days to implement the restructured police department, suggesting that the chief could come before the commission and ask for more officers if he feels he needs them.

Snodgrass mulled it over during a break and finally relented.

“If we don’t hire a police chief by the end of the year, I’ll be coming back with another motion,” he said.

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A refreshing read and almost entirely accurate. Three quick points... first while Helhoski and Pawlowski denied using delay tactics early, Helhoski was guilty of a Freudian Slip later in the meeting when he admitted they had been delaying and then quickly tried to cover the slip. Clearly the two Commissioners have been doing all they could to delay the police issue. Second the story fails to address Pawlowski's rogue attitude and actions. Without the consent of the Commission she directed the City Mananger to tell Sheriff Shoar and others they were not needed. Her arrogance is appalling and makes it difficult for other Commissioner members, city staff and citizens to trust her. Finally Mr. Guinta should start to look at the facts collectively. A handful of officers made allegations aginst Chief Hedges, One of those officers (no longer with the agency) was responsible for oversight of the evidence room (the subject of much of the controversy) That officer had two subordinates who were also involved in the management of the evidence room. Neary all of the evidence that allegedly disppeared did so while these people were involved. A fourth officer was appointed to locate the missing evidence. His efforts were unsuccessful. Ironically after the Sheriff became involved all of this missing evidence was accounted for. The same officers that were accusing the chief of wrong doing were the same ones handling the evidence room. Now I ask Mr. Guinta and the community was this incompetence or was there collusion by a group of disgruntled officers to run the chief out of town

Enough, give it a rest.
Looks like the commission is trying to find some middle ground, and all you continue to do is add a bunch of but's...But you forgot this, but what about that,....I bet when you appologize, you add a but in at the end.
Maybe we can all stop keeping score and do what's best for the beach as a whole. It's going to need to be an impartial process and hurt feelings on both sides will need time to heal.
The new chief has their work cut out for them...Time will tell.

Any government has a duty under state and federal employee guidelines to specifically make sure they do not create or allow hostile work environments. Leave the politics to the politicians, and the work to the workers is always a good policy on both sides.

I worry that what no one is seeing that creating a Beach Police Department that is understaffed and not trained or brought up to current accredited standards will ultimately leave the city of St. Augustine Beach responsible for the safety of their employed officers.

There has already been the loss of an officers life years ago when the SABPD had just 2 people, if there had been more on duty that night, or a 2 man car maybe we wouldn't be mourning the loss of an officer all these years later?

The key is to be reasonable with your expectations and actions in matters like this where you have a moral obligation to realize you are dealing with PUBLIC SAFETY... Not just money. You have a responsibility to assure both the citizens and visitors to St. Augustine Beach that it is not an area that allows a free for all instead of a law abiding community.

During the campaign Vice Mayor Rich O'Brien promised he would give the new Police Chief a say in the staffing of the Police Dept and on Tuesday night he kept his promise when he brokered the successful compromise of waiting to implement the blended plan and give the new chief 60 days to report back to the Commission with recommended staffing levels. I applaud O'Brien for keeping his campaign promise and formulating good ideas.

Commissioner Pawlowski is one that needs to be watched as she is a dividing force on the Commission and it is obvious what she has been doing for many months now and that was to get her boyfriend Ed George on the Commission for her political gain at any cost to our City. She concocted the scenario with the police dept. with her buddies on the department including fired cop Joni Mathis to create dissension within the City; a plan that backfired on her with the blended plan passing and had her back peddling with her failed plan. Either you are working for the best interest of our City or for yourself and she is 100% for Undine. George will soon find out he is no longer a benefit to her career and he will be discarded.

Yea BBB that one officer is Chief Hedges, evidence custodian! The subordinate you speak of will be retained at the police department after the officers are fired.
11/14 is a department not a handful of officers. 5, the number we will be left with is a handful. You conspiracy theory is ridicules, evidence is supposed to be locked in a vault with limited access. Anything less would be the chief's fault. He put guns in the store room, no one else. He didn't realize an officers gun was not turned in when the employee quit. He took the car off of private property. He was called in as a reckless driver. That handful of employees are really talented in framing an innocent guy. Who knows, maybe they are all CIA operatives in which case, maybe the commission shouldn't be messing with them....
What is your unhealthy obsession with commissioner Pawlowski? Time after time you fixate on her, one has to wonder if you have a shrine in your closet dedicated to her or spend your nights following her around. Just because she is a public official, you are not justified in your obsessive stalker type activities. Maybe a restraining order is in-order.

The commissioners are pushing for a reduction be cause they are retaliating against the officers. They do not want an objective process. They want revenge for their close friend, former evidence custodian and chief of police. We all see it....